Railway gets Rs 2,000 crore loan from LIC to decongest corridors

The Railway Ministry has received funds to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore as a loan from the Life Insurance Cooperation (LIC) as financial assistance for investment in capacity augmentation projects.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday received the first installment.

Earlier, the railways had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the LIC in March this year for financial assistance of Rs 1.5 lakh crore over the next five years for implementing railway projects.

Addressing mediapersons after receiving the cheque, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said Rs. 2,000 crore rupees will be utilised for laying new lines to decongest busiest rail corridors.

"The lack of fund is always a major challenge for the railway so there is need to find out appropriate financial institutions for funding," he said.

He added that he also had asked his officials to explore other avenues to raise fund for investments.

"The investment would be done in bonds issued by various railway entities such the Indian Railways Finance Corporation (IRFC) in the beginning next fiscal. There would also be a five-year moratorium on interest and loan repayment," he added.